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Chapter Seventeen: The Harvest Festival

"What about 'Fleece'?" Qali mused.

"Aw for cryin' out loud, we already vetod dat one!" Ada yelped. "Can't yas remember anyting?"

By now the family had long since arrived at the Harvest Festival proper. The elaborate decorated stalls and rides stretched on as far as Dawn's eyes could see. It had been much larger than she could have possibly imaged considering how rural the North Meadowlands was compared to it's southern counterpart. Gleaming golds, yellows, oranges and ruby reds shone from every angle, draping every attraction like gift wrap, All tightly packed in but still featuring large, already massively crowded lanes of fairgoers. A mix of scents from the myriad of baked delights hung heavily in the air, and Dawn found herself covering her mouth to keep from drooling. The Harvest Festival was so much more than she had even anticipated, and yet it also made her all the more nervous. It was so crowded, so many more mammals than she anticipated. How would they react to seeing her and Vernon? Would it be simple stares of disapproval, or something worse?

Dawn did her best to shake off the lingering thoughts as Vanna helped her down from the back of the truck. No, she was dead set on trying to be positive. The fair wasn't for anyone but Vernon and herself. She was going to enjoy it, despite the pheromones, despite possible onlookers, despite it all. The ewe was dead set on trying to have the best time possible with her mate.

"Well, I still think Woolly is a good one." Qali stated as she jumped down from Vanna's paw. The petite fox placed her paws on her hips.

"You dummy!" Ada barked. "I said dat one, remember?"

Qali placed a paw to her head, shaking it as she closed her eyes.

"Ugh, we've been talking about this so long I kind of lost track of who said what." Qali muttered.

"I swear youse are practically a space cadet, youse may as well work at MASA." Ada cackled.

"Hey! You-"

"Let's table it for now." Vanna cut in. " We can pick it up after the fair, right Dawn?"

"Hmm?" Dawn turned back to face the tigress. The ewe had been lost in her thoughts.

Dawn blushed sharply, twiddling a hoof in the dirt.

"I-I'm sorry." Dawn muttered. "I wasn't really paying attention."

Vanna smirked. "Clearly the smartest mammal here."

Dawn suppressed a giggle as Ada and Qali flashed the large tigress the dirtiest looks the ewe had ever seen. It was clear that remark stung quite a bit.

"And how was the ride my Darlin'?"

Dawn nearly jumped out of her pelt before recognizing exactly who had spoken. Spinning around rapidly Dawn found her mate standing over her, a big grin across his muzzle. The ewe gave the wolf a playful slap.

"Vernon!" Her face reddened as she spoke. "You startled me!"

Vernon laughed as he playfully feigned a need to protect himself. The wolf raised his paws as Dawn's weak and ineffectual slaps landed.

"Easy Honey lamb! I'm sorry." The wolf said between laughs.

Dawn flashed the wolf a smirk, placing her hoofs on her hips as she struck a more confident stance.

"Hmm, I suppose I'll forgive you." Dawn teased. The ewe casually extended a hoof as she turned her gaze away from the wolf. "If you kiss my hoof."

She heard the wolf let out another soft chuckle.

"I'm afraid I gotta check something first." Vernon replied.

As Dawn turned her head back toward the wolf, she found Vernon had moved his nose in close to her wooly puff. At first the ewe was confused, until she heard the wolf take several big whiffs of the air around her. Before Dawn could ask about the smell, the wolf planted a kiss on the tip of her snout. Dawn quickly clasped her hooves over her nose, blushing intensely.

"VERNOoooOOOOn!" She squealed. The wolf had managed to get her again.

Vernon rose back to his feet, smiling widely.

"Seems the car ride helped kill the smell a bit." Vernon said.

Dawn frowned slightly. "S-should I-"

"Naw, it's still there." Vernon replied, grimacing slightly. "But it's dull enough not to spoil the fun."

Dawn let out a sigh of relief. For a moment the wolf made her worried that the perfume had completely worn off. With no protective barrier formed by Audrey's scent, the risk of making an entirely different kind of scene at the fair would have been something else for Dawn to worry about.

"Heya Snowflake!" Dawn turned to see Trenton approaching. The wolf had only made it a few steps before the tiny fox lunged at him. Within the blink of an eye, she had wraped her arms around his neck, swinging slightly from side to side as she hung from him.

"EiiiiiIIII!" She squealed, as the wolf wrapped his paws around her, pulling her to his chest. "This is going to be so fun!" The fox chirped. Releasing her grip, the fox now hung in Trenton's arms. Stabbing a paw out towards the fair, the fox began to chatter at light speed.

"OH Trenny! What do we ride first!?" She barked excitedly. "Or should we play some of those cheesy carnival games!?" Qali scratched her chin for a moment. "Where do we pay?" Qali was quick to snap out of her reflective thoughts, reaching her paws back up to grasp Trenton's face. The tiny fox playfully mushed the white wolf's cheeks around. "Oh who cares! Let's get going already!" She said gleefully.

Trenton let out a throaty chuckle. "Easy, easy there Flurrie Dust, we got two days."

Qali tilted her head back, planting a kiss on the bottom of Trenton's jaw. "Then we gotta make the most of it!"

Trenton gave a rough tussle of Qali's droopy coif of hair before easing the fox back onto the ground. "We will, we will." The wolf assured. With Qali now out of his arms, the wolf made his way over to Dawn and Vernon. With a gentle smile, the white wolf reached a paw out and placed it on Vernon's shoulder.

"You gonna be good to go?" Trenton asked, patting his brothers shoulder firmly.

Vernon snorted. "Pfft. We're fine. I'm over it. Thanks."

Trenton leaned in a bit closer, staring his brother in the eyes. There was an air of seriousness to it, as if he was searching for some sign that Vernon wasn't being honest.

"I'm fine Trent, we're going to be fine today." Vernon smiled warmly.

Trenton continued his glare for a moment before giving the wolf another firm pat and releasing him from his grip.

"Alright big bro, just-" Trenton paused. "Just remember what we talked about okay?"

Vernon nodded briskly as the white wolf turned his attention back to Qali. The fox hadn't noticed the conversation had effectively ended, she was far too busy standing on her tippy toes to peer at as many local stands as she could. Her nose raised high as she seemed to be taking in the scents as Dawn had been doing earlier. Trenton looked back at Dawn and Vernon for a moment, flashing them a mischievous grin and raising his eyebrows playfully. Turning back to his mate, the wolf gave her rump a playful slap, causing the petite fox to yelp as she jumped in place. Spinning around quickly, she flashed Trenton an irritated glare.

"C'mon Snowflake, we're burning daylight." The wolf seemed to ignore her reaction, instead beginning to walk off into the fair. "You wanted to hurry remember?"

"OOH Trenton!" The fox hissed as she rubbed her hind quarters. "I'm going to get you for that!" Breaking into a light jog, she scurried to catch up with Trenton's stride.

"You know you love it." The white wolf chuckled as he took one of Qali's small paws in his own.

And with that, the couple effectively disappeared into the crowd.

"Well, I betta get ova to dat truck." Ada muttered as she passed between Dawn and Vernon. "Hopefully I can keep Yuri from gettin' himself inta more trouble."

As the hyeness made her way to the corner of the family stand, and began to ease her way between the narrow alley between it and the neighboring stand, she flashed the ewe a smile.

"And don't faget what we said to ya eader." She said, pointing a claw at Dawn.

With a final cackle, she slipped between the flaps and disappeared.

Dawn turned back to Vernon to find him already looking down at her curiously.

"What happened?" Vernon beat her to the punch. The ewe had been eager to ask the same about Vernon and Trenton, and if he was truly in a better mood. Dawn scratched the back of her head, flashing the wolf a timid smile.

"Oh nothing." Dawn said. "Just sister-in-law stuff." Dawn's grin grew into a wide and cheesy one, which Vernon matched with his own equally satisfied grin.

"Sister-in-law stuff huh?" Vernon chuckled. "So I take it the ride was good?"

Dawn shook her head briskly, but as she went to open her mouth Vanna chimed in.

"She's one of us now." The tigress said, flashing Vernon a toothy grin as she reached down to give Dawn a pat on the shoulder.

Vernon made a mock fearful look as he placed a paw to his head, leaning back in fake woe.

"Oh no, now who knows what gossip is going to go on about me behind my back!" The wolf groaned.

Dawn giggled. "Please, what do you think I do with Judy?"

Vernon straightened back up, his mock fear dissipating in real worry as he eyed the lamb. His ears sagged slightly as he frowned.

"Y-you do?" Vernon said, voice quavering slightly.

Dawn broke into a loud laugh, placing a hoof on her knee to steady herself.

"D-don't worry Puppy!" She snickered. "It's a-all good stuff! I-I promise."

The wolf stiffened his stance, running a paw across his scalp as he tried to compose himself. The wolf's expression looked as though he was trying his hardest to appear not to care.

"I'm not worried." He said calmly, but the ewe could hear a tinge of nervousness in his voice. With that, Dawn grabbed his paw, squeezing it tightly as she smiled up at him.

"I know Puppy Love." She cooed, patting his paw with her other hoof. "I know."

"Now where's that Goofball?" Vanna interrupted thier playful spat. The large tigress had a paw above her eyes as she scanned the area for a trace of her mate. It reminded Dawn that the Zach question was still hanging in the air, something she had yet to ask the wolf about. As Vanna continued her search, Dawn gave Vernon's arm a few light tugs to bring his attention back to her.

"P-Puppy?" She mumbled.

"What is it Darlin'?" Vernon replied.

Dawn looked down at the dirt briefly, not entirely sure how to proceed. Vernon seemed happier, he seemed like whatever had set him off before they left was out of his mind. It made Dawn unsure as to whether she should even broach the subject, and risk bringing Vernon back down. Still, she had some inkling that whatever happened involved her, and was too curious to not at least try to see what had happened.

"W-well...this morning." Dawn stuttered. "I mean before we l-left..." Dawn trailed off, squeezing Vernon's paw tightly as she mustered the courage to push on. "What happened with-"

"ZACH! There you are!" Vanna cut Dawn off. Dawn turned to look in the direction the tiger was shouting, only to briefly catch sight of the russet tipped wolf before he slid behind the corner of the nearest stand.

Vanna placed her paws on her hips.

"Zach come over here!" She yelled.

For a moment the wolf remained hidden. But as Dawn watched, she saw his head poke out from behind the stall. From what Dawn could see the wolf looked very worried. His ears sagged as he looked toward the ground.

"Zach." Vanna said sternly.

More of the wolf appeared, and soon he was shuffling toward the group. He was still staring at the floor as he made his way over, like a child who knew he had done something terribly wrong. It took the wolf a while to close the gap between himself and the group, but he eventually made it to Vanna's side, and then slinked behind her and out of Dawn's sight. The large tigress glanced behind her back in confusion.

"Zach, what is going on?" Vanna said bluntly.

Dawn could hear quiet mumbling from behind the wall of mammal that was Vanna, but nothing descernable.

"What?" Vanna asked, clearly having just as hard a time hearing him as Dawn had.

After another awkwardly quiet moment, the wolf poked his head out from behind Vanna, and slowly managed to bring his eye-line up to Dawn's.

"U-Uh..." Zach stammered. The wolf glanced back at the floor briefly before making eye contact with Dawn again. "I-I'm sorry Vern." Zach stuttered. "I'm so s-"

"We're over it Zach." Vernon interrupted. His reply was terse and stiff, but it seemed earnest.

Dawn looked at Vernon in surprise.

"V-Vernon are you sure it-"

"Dawn trust me." Vernon added. "I'm over it."

Looking back at Zach, the ewe could see he was equally as confused. His head tilted as the wolf warily crept out from behind his mate.

"R-really?" Zach sputtered. "Y-you forgive me?"

The wolf squeezed the bridge of his muzzle and closed his eyes, letting out a long, exasperated sounding sigh.

"Y-yeah, we're fine Zach." Vernon muttered.

"But what happened?" Dawn asked. "Did it have to do wit-"

"It was family stuff." Vernon interrupted. "It's not worth worrying about Dawn. Trust me."

"But Vernon."

"Dawn look." The wolf sighed. Vernon kneeled down to her level, placing a paw on her shoulder as he stared into her eyes. "I want us to have fun today. Just the two of us." The wolf wiped a paw across his face. "So I decided I wasn't going to worry about any of the other stuff."

The wolf flashed her a meek smile. "And I want you to be able to do that to."

"Vernon."

"It was just about our Pa." Zach interjected, his voice seemingly firmer than before. It appeared that earning Vernon's forgiveness had improved his overall demeanor. "We just had a simple disagreement that got out of paw is all. It's all fine."

Dawn eyed the wolf skeptically.

"You should go have fun, don't waste time worrying about me and Vern." Zach persisted. The ewe continued to scan his face for a tell. Something still didn't sit quite right with her about whatever the argument had been about. She had her doubts she was getting the whole truth, but Zach's face remained unflinching under her scrutiny.

Dawn was ready to further press the reddish wolf, but before she could open her mouth she felt a paw under her chin. Slowly it steered her face back toward her mate's smiling face. The wolf's paw suddenly found it's way to the side of her face, gently caressing her as he continued to stare lovingly into her eyes. Her desire to question the subject was fading rapidly under Vernon's overbearing warmth.

"I just want to enjoy today with the one I love. That's my only goal." The wolf's smile had widened into a warm grin, the kind that easily pierced Dawn's most stalwart defenses. She knew whatever had happened involved her, she was certain. But her own desire to just enjoy the fair with Vernon, coupled with his seeming need to simply push whatever it was aside managed to win Dawn over.

"O-okay." Dawn stuttered, clasping the paw on her face with her hoof affectionately.

"I'll tell you some other time, if you still want to know by then, okay?" It was as if Vernon had read her mind. Her last grasp at standing somewhat firm had been seemingly predicted by the wolf, leaving her with nothing more to add. She was only left wondering exactly how far off that _'some other time'_would be. But she quickly decided to brush it aside for now in favor of doing what her mate had said, and making the most of their time at the festival.

"Well then, I-Oop!" Dawn suddenly felt the ground drop out from under her. She found herself briefly swirling through the air before coming to a stop high off the ground. It didn't take the ewe long to figure out what happened, especially considering she was now at Vanna's eye-line. Looking down, she could see the top of Vernon's head. Letting out a huff, she gave it a playful slap.

"Ow!" Vernon laughed.

"I hate when you do that!" Dawn giggled. "Warn me first!"

Vernon glanced back up at the ewe, flashing her a meek smile. "You know you love it."

Dawn groaned. "You Hunter boys say that to all the girls don't you?"

Vernon chuckled. "Only the special ones."

The ewe covered her face with a hoof in an effort to hide the blush from Vanna and Zach.

"Welp, you two have fun." Vernon said, giving the other mammals a wave of his paw. "I know we will."

Dawn found herself slowly spun around until the pair were out of sight, and soon she was moving into the crowd of mammals toward the rides and games that lie ahead. Looking back, she flashed Vanna a weak smile and waved.

"See you guys later!" Dawn chirped.

"Bye!" Vanna grinned, slapping a paw on the back of her mate. It seemingly surprised the wolf, whose stance was still somewhat slackened by whatever was bothering him. It was clear Vernon's okay wasn't enough to fully assuage whatever guilt the wolf was feeling, but Dawn would have to force herself not to worry about it any longer. Turning her view back to the fairgrounds ahead, Dawn steeled herself for the day ahead. She was going to have fun, they were going to have fun, and nothing was going to ruin that.